The Devil as a Foe and Besetment
“Your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he
may devour.” I Peter 5:8
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
Outline of Discourse
1. As an opponent of God and our Lord Jesus
2. The effects of Satan’s influence on the world
3. A personal Adversary or foe of the New Creation
4. Admonitions as to “How we can conquer or resist”
5. Who actually destroys Satan in the End?
Satan: An opponent of God
F613 Then it was that one of those of high rank, reasoning out
the possibilities of the matter and harboring selfish and
ambitious thoughts, concluded that if he could in some manner
but capture the newly created human pair, and alienate them
from God, then he could through them set up a special kingdom
or dominion of his own, of which he would be the god or lord,
usurping the place and honor of Jehovah respecting mankind
and the earth. It was his prosecution of this criminal ambition
that gave to him his present name, Satan--adversary of God.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the
lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
The effect of Satan’s influence in the world.
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Lies
Hatred
Wars
Stealing
Injustice
Murder
Disease/Sickness
Genocide
Pain
Death
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Jealousies
Bitterness
Anger
Prideful power struggles
Deception
Crime
Prisons
Hospitals
Funeral Homes
Cemeteries
The effect of Satan’s influence in the world…
in a nutshell.
Pain
Sickness
Sorrow
Death
A personal adversary of the New Creation
• Satan hates us and would like to devour us – to kill us if he
could.
• Since he cannot – unless God permits it – he tries to “crush
out” our spiritual life – to kill us spiritually.
• Our great Adversary subsequently
strategizes and plots out his schemes
to entrap us – deceive us – and knock
us off course, either morally or spiritually.
The Devil’s Identity - Scripturally
Job 1:6-7
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then
Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
Zechariah 3:1-2
And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist
him.
And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan;
even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not
this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Matt. 4:1
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode
not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Satan Originally Created Perfect
• Deut. 32:4 He (God) is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his
ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just
and right is he.
The Adversary’s Character
“Our Lord's declaration, that Satan is the great Adversary, not
only of God, but of humanity, is by no means a fancy sketch, but
the plain truth….Satan alone is the wilful, intelligent plotter and
schemer who uses a superhuman intelligence and, so far as
permitted, superhuman powers, to inveigle our fallen flesh,
through depraved appetites, etc., and who frequently uses the
worldly as his tools and unconscious instruments in opposing
righteousness and truth and those who are of the Truth.” F611
Satan is a vicious, crafty schemer who as the slanderer of
Jehovah, misrepresents God; and as an unabashed opposing
spirit of all that is righteous and good. He is cold, ruthless, and
merciless to his foes. Our Lord Jesus said: “He was a liar and a
murderer from the beginning.” We believe Satan is 100% evil. His
main problem from the beginning was apparently unholy and
misdirected ambition. There is NO truth at all in him! (Jn. 8:44)
What are some of the Adversary’s
Snares and Traps?
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Pride
Unholy Ambition
Selfishness
Sophistries
Pleasure
Jealousy
Hatred
Immorality
Money
Fear
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Angel of Light
The Nominal System
Misrepresentation
Distractions
Revisionism
Revenge
Depression
Distracting Relationships
Unfair Criticism
Love of Ease/No Cross
Trap #1 Pride
Matt. 4:8-9 “Again, the devil taketh
him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the
glory of them; And saith unto him,
All these things will I give thee, if
thou wilt fall down and worship
me. .”
Nothing is more dangerous to the child of God than self-conceit; it
blocks the way to true progress and reformation of heart, and hinders
true usefulness to others, and especially usefulness in God's service.
R5186
Trap #2 Unholy Ambition
Isa. 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
be like the most High.
Ambition is necessary in the Church, as in the world; but it must
not be a selfish ambition for greatness or prominence, but a
loving ambition to serve the Lord and his people, even the very
humblest. F296
Snare #3 Selfishness
Definition: Concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself. Seeking or
concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure or well being without regard
for others.
R5229 Evidently the principle of selfishness is the root from which all
disagreements emanate. Surely there is nothing of selfishness in the Lord's
Spirit. Whence then is this spirit of strife and discord which sometimes
manifests itself among the Lord's people? One sets himself up and seeks to
take away the rights and liberties of others….
The most favorable condition for unity is that all seek to have the Lord's will
done in their mortal bodies. The only difficulty that could then arise would
result from ignorance or from weakness of the flesh that had not been
overcome or that could not be overcome. The other members of the
congregation, having the Spirit of the Master, would assume that the erring
brother was merely ignorant, and not willfully in opposition. Therefore in all
kindness and gentleness they would seek to point out the will of the Father as
expressed in Christ. The younger brother would be glad to have this done,
because he would have the Spirit of Christ.
Trap #4 Pleasure
Pleasure seeking of the natural, gratifying desires of
the human senses. Taste, sight, sound, touch, and
smell are all a part of our human nature – which wants
(demands) to be continually gratified. Any kind of humanly
pleasurable experience the Adversary can use to snare us away
from a “consecration to sacrifice”. If Satan can misuse these
natural desires to lead us away from God or the narrow way of
sacrifice – you can bet that he will do it. In fact, any doctrine –
like the “sin-offering” he will attack or discredit by the force of
argument the flesh can put up to deny or challenge the scriptural
validity. After all, the worldly fleshly pleasures could be more
satisfied if this important doctrinal understanding was swept
under the rug of confusion, doubt or denial. “Present your
bodies a living sacrifice” could be perceptually overlooked while
on the path to the trap named “pleasure”.
Snare #4 Sophistry
(you can’t see it!)
(subtle deceptive reasoning or argumentation)
Psa. 19:13 “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins”
R4835 The perversion of what he (God) has revealed, or claiming and holding
tenaciously any doctrine merely on the ground of fallible human reasoning.
(Examples: Immortal soul, Trinity, Hell Fire, etc.)
Question: Are there any doctrinal beliefs that we as Bible Students hold
tenaciously on to - that we can cannot prove by the scriptures?
Some Christians of past history have subscribed to and justified their actions by:
“The end justifies the means” Morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary to
achieve morally right outcomes; actions can only be considered morally right or
wrong by virtue of the morality of the outcome. (Who says? Is that in the
scriptures?)
Rom. 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his
glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom. 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm
that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
Snare #5 Jealousy
Songs of Solomon 8:6 “…jealousy is cruel as the grave:
the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.”
R4789 JEALOUSY of another is always an evil quality; as the text states, it is "cruel as
sheol," which engulfs all mankind; it is unreasoning and insatiable. One has said of it,
"Jealousy is really--whether so recognized or not--a thirst for blood, life; at any
moment, when reason is a little weaker than usual, jealousy is ready to kill the thing it
hates or the thing it loves." It signifies either apprehension of being displaced in the
affections of another, or of being outdone by a rival in matters of favor or popularity
with others.
The jealousy mentioned in our text is the most vicious kind of cruelty, committed in
the name of love, or through envy; it is one of the great foes which confront every
Christian and is closely allied to hatred, malice, envy, strife, and should be slain on
sight as an enemy of God and man, and of every good principle; and to the extent
that its presence has defiled the heart even for a moment, a cleansing by the spirit of
holiness and love should be invoked. It is not only a cruel monster of itself, but its
poisonous fangs are almost certain to inflict pain and trouble upon others. The mind
which is once poisoned with jealousy so rapidly brings everything within its
environment to its own color and character that it is with great difficulty that it can be
entirely cleansed from it.
Read James Chapter 4 also.
Trap #6 Hatred
1Jn 3:14-16 We know that we have passed from death unto life,
because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer:
and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his
life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
R3928 The new creature cannot deliberately entertain a feeling
of hatred toward a brother--it would mean the spirit or
disposition of murder, and thus the reverse of the Lord's Spirit.
Trap #7 Immorality
Is the world media promoting sex and immorality more and more on the
magazine racks, as well as television and the movies today – more than ever
before? Who can deny it? Our young brethren values have especially been
greatly attacked by these traps of the great Adversary. “Watch out where you
step!”
Br. Russell said one time that “that which is prevalent in the world, will be a
special threat to the Church.” How true do you think that is?
How careful the new creation needs to be with what they allow their minds to
be entertained with and their eyes to be drawn towards. Are we walking in
the flesh, or in the spirit? Be on guard to not fall into the trap of immorality –
even in your mind. Be careful of the “little foxes that can spoil the vine”. King
David fell into this snare that the Adversary laid for him – and paid for it
heavily. Is the cost and loss worth it?
James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.
Snare #8 Money
1Tim. 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
R2259
The spirit of Mammon crowds out the spirit of love and wisdom
from above, and leads to losing the spirit of the truth, the letter
of the truth and the faith.
Snare # 9
Fear (of loss)
There are many kinds of fear…but the fear trap that we point to is a “fear of
sacrifice”. At first, it is rather easy to consecrate our “all” on the alter of
sacrifice, until we realize just what that really requires. The test of time
surfaces a love of ease and comfort in the great Company where it is finally
required that many have to have a “forced” consecration – when it is too late
to gain the chief prize.
Matt. 25:11-12 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say
unto you, I know you not.
Heb. 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver
them who through fear of death (of the flesh) were all their lifetime subject
to bondage.
Snare # 10 The Nominal Systems – THE Most
Deceptive Trap!
The temptations to the New Creation from the world would be
comparatively powerless were it not for the fact that the
nominal church combines the worldly spirit, aims and ambitions
with the name of Christ and an humble service to him. The ease,
honor of men, emoluments, freedom from sacrifice, and
sureness of attaining the best things that this world can give,
are the baits and allurements, the snares and traps, which
Babylon holds out to the New Creation, and that continually. No
others of the Adversary's snares are so alluring, so deceptive,
so powerful, as this one.
Snare # 11 Angel of Light
2Co 11:14-15 And no marvel;
for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of
light. Therefore it is no great
thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers
of righteousness; whose end
shall be according to their
works.
Snare # 12 Misrepresentations and
Misunderstandings Amongst the Brotherhood
Snare # 13 Distractions
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.
Snare #14
Depression
According to WolframAlpha.com there are about 2.5
million people in the United States that have some form
of depression. Are we exempt? Can the Adversary use
the trap of depression to trip us up in the narrow way of
our Christian walk? Absolutely.
Wouldn’t Satan like to discourage us so much that we
might feel like “giving up the racecourse” – “we won’t
make our calling and election sure”. We have too many
flaws in our character – too many issues to become as
Christ-like as we need to become.
But didn’t God know what He was dealing with when
he called us? Maybe our character flaws are the
REASON that he called us, because he needed
someone like us in the body of Christ that believed in
His strength made perfect in our weakness – that
could identify with the millions who have the same
struggles – and will need us in the Kingdom.
Snare #15 Distracting Relationships
Matt. 10:37 He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of
me: and he that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me.
Signifies a cutting off of every other love that would conflict with
our love for the Lord. Our earthly loves are to be counted as
nothing in comparison. R5426
“He will have in that select Little Flock only such as love him
supremely--more than they love houses or lands, husbands or
wives, or children, or any earthly thing.”
"Lovest thou me more than these?" John 21:15
Snare #16 Unfair Criticism or Hypercriticism
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 10:24-25 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they
have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of
his household?
We seldom weigh others in
the same balance as we weigh
ourselves. See also F 297-298
Snare #17
Love of Ease/No Cross
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and
followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
“If we turn aside from the path of
humiliation and daily cross-bearing and
strife - for present exaltation and
preferment, we are forgetting the very
conditions upon which the future
exaltation depends.” R1988
“The missionary zeal of the church of Philadelphia, which at one time inflamed the
whole mass of reformed Christianity, subsided into lukewarmness--phariseeism--the
happy medium between impiety and pietism.”
No Cross – No Crown
Snare # 19 Revisionism
Many people and groups today say that the Holocaust never happened. There
is a movement to rewrite the history of this by revisionist historians.
Has Satan tried to set a
trap of revisionism
amongst Bible Students?
Have some of our
doctrines been slowly
revised over the past
hundred years to reflect
self or popular opinion
over and above what the
seventh messenger’s
statements are in the
volumes of Studies in the
Scriptures?
R 3100
2 Peter 2:10
The Truth is in the Bible…
But the
UNDERSTANDING…
Is in the Volumes.
How Can We Resist the Adversary?
1. First, be very aware that he notices our every weakness.
2. Stand pat in your confidence in the Lord and HIS strength.
3. Keep your spiritual armor on – make sure you’re wearing all of it!
4. Transform your mind with the scriptures and retrain the
convolutions of your thoughts– let’s improve our efforts!
5. Know the Adversaries tools and tactics and snares
6. Stay very close to the Lord in prayer, meditation and study.
7. Don’t forsake the assembling of your brethren.
8. Place a sentry of love at the door of your heart.
9.“Run with patience the race that is set before us”
10. Watch and be vigilant “because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”
11. Resist the Adversary with a “stone from the brook”
appropriate scriptural affirmations backed by a resolute will
I Cor. 15:58, James 4:7, 2 Thess. 2:9, 2 Thess. 2:11,12
WHO actually destroys Satan in the End?
God destroys Satan in the End
R 4999
Neither is Satan one of the enemies whom Jesus will then
destroy. He was an enemy before man sinned, and his rebellion
was not brought about by man's sin. He was subject to Divine
authority before man was created, and will be a subject of Divine
authority after man shall have been redeemed and restored. It
will not be for the Mediator to deal with him, but for Divine
Justice to determine his deserts. Besides, it is said that he will be
destroyed in the Second Death, in the death from which there
will be no redemption, no resurrection, no recovery.
Rev 20:9 …and fire came down from God out of heaven, and
devoured them.
Finally…and in Conclusion
Eph. 6:10-13
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
James 4:7 …Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Amen